(NaturalNews) Raw milk continues to be restricted and controlled in what was once a free marketplace. It's not that consumer demand is diminishing: No. It's more so because lawmakers are legislating against raw milk, at the state and federal level, protecting corporate interests. In 1948, Michigan became the first state to require pasteurization of milk, and by 1987, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) overrode the Tenth Amendment and mandated pasteurization of all milk products for human consumption, effectively banning raw milk shipments between state lines.

Ever since then, a pasteurization-based dairy industry has grown large, controlling government commodity boards, restricting raw milk, directing how milk is advertised, and also influencing the way people think about milk. What used to be a farmer's free enterprise has now become a black market. Governments, in trying to keep everyone "safe," have effectively forced raw milk farmers into a sort of underground market. Government officials now raid raw milk dispensaries and health food stores, as they try to seize this illegal milk "drug."

Nevada Governor Sandoval denounces raw milk

Nevada is the latest state to get in on the debate. As consumers and farmers push back against laws that restrict their freedom of choice of what they eat or drink, legislatures and governors are faced with the issue of raw milk.

Brian Sandoval, Governor of Nevada, has recently vetoed a bill, which denounces raw milk freedom, as he caves into the demands of the FDA and government "safety" officials. He said his decision to veto Assembly Bill 209 came after hearing concerns from the American Medical Association that raw milk posed "significant public health risks."

If signed, the bill would have lifted raw milk restrictions, allowing Nevada's rural Nye County to distribute raw milk statewide. Current law prohibits statewide distribution. Only local county milk commissions are allowed to certify raw milk for sale, solely within their county. Twenty other states have similar laws within their borders.

Pasteurized milk has its risks too

The National Milk Producers Federation is smiling after Nevada Governor Sandoval vetoed this bill. Jerry Kozak, president and CEO, applauded the veto:

"The nation's dairy farmers thank Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval for vetoing a state bill that would have permitted raw milk to be distributed statewide...and siding with health experts who recognize the potential danger [raw milk poses to consumers]."

Politicizing Nevada's decision, Kozak made the veto into a "call to action" for other states: "We urge other states considering similar legislation to look to the exemplary leadership demonstrated by Sandoval," said Kozak.

Kozak and the industry fail to mention that pasteurized milk isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, in 1984-1985, pasteurized milk was responsible for an outbreak that affected at least 200,000 people. They fail to mention that pasteurized dairy products caused 2,181 milk-borne outbreak-related illnesses between 2000 and 2007. This proves that government "safety laws" don't keep people any more safe than a free market would.

Free markets have built-in regulations - the consumers. If all products were simply labeled correctly, then consumers could make informed decisions about what they want to put in their own body. Corporate government influence would be out of the way and consumers could decide for themselves what was safe.

Pasteurization denatures milk

Not only does pasteurization have its own safety concerns, this method also destroys the essential properties of milk, denaturing it through high heating. A Grade A Pasteurized milk product can be heated to 161 degrees for 15 seconds using hot water and metal plates. Pasteurized milk can also go through an even higher heat treatment for up to two seconds at 280 degrees. Both these processes destroy the bacteria in the milk, good and bad, and also render the enzymes in the milk useless. With the enzymes "cooked" out of the milk, the nutrition that is listed on the supermarket label is practically useless to the body, indigestible, and a waste of time.

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